Author
Topic: What Are You Playing? (Read 388534 times)

Their two player games were really fun with this bunch or friends, decent selection for crowds I'd think ... but nobody was prepared for controllers to be dropped or thrown cos of game rage ... my friend wouldn't budge with Contra III and an hour later, he finally got to the first stage's boss and died at the same time as beating the boss. He was not pleased, not one bit. It was funny to watch.

Logged

At the end of time, a moment will come when just one man remains. Then the moment will pass. Man will be gone. There will be nothing to show that we were ever here... but stardust.

I beat Adventures of Mana yesterday. It was a very well-made remake, though a bit on the easy side. Still a fun game to play. On to Secret of Mana!

Secret of Mana was a game I played later in life (funny way to describe a gaming experience ) at Aaz' urging and I was not disappointed. Actually, I was sort of amazed how relatively underappreciated it is (not by those that have played it).

On New Years Eve we played a few games on a friend's SNES Classic - Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Mario Kart (gave me motion sickness cos I wasn't used to seeing pixels move that fast), Super Ghouls and Ghosts and Contra III.

Yeah, Mario Kart 1 is one great game I have very little interest in playing again these days for the very reason that the graphics now seem totally disorienting.

Their two player games were really fun with this bunch or friends, decent selection for crowds I'd think ... but nobody was prepared for controllers to be dropped or thrown cos of game rage ... my friend wouldn't budge with Contra III and an hour later, he finally got to the first stage's boss and died at the same time as beating the boss. He was not pleased, not one bit. It was funny to watch.

Haha, the more things change...

Speaking of which, I had my first real Souls experience with Demon's Souls thanks to the Maneater(s) boss. That is, fucking dying ludicrously due to the environment and then sprinting back to do it again and again, more incredulous each time. Finally, I said enough is enough, revived my body, put Old Spice (not the aftershave) on my belt and said, "This is it" and meticulously took them down with the assistance of Light Weapon on my Crushing Claymore (I also have a Moon Claymore but this combo was better =). I can't tell you how many times before that I had the last Maneater down to less than a quarter life before something stupid happened like I randomly rolled sideways off the bridge seemingly due to input error. BTW, that has to be my least favorite control wrinkle in this game, those fucking sideways rolls that feel like they can go in any direction and always seem to be the wrong one.

And speaking of disorienting, I should mention I tried VR for the first time courtesy of my brother in law who let me try PSVR Doom and some videos. The videos, particularly a sci-fi horror one called Sonar, had a lot of potential because it's a truly participatory and environmental viewing experience where you have to look around to follow the action. Very interesting sort of space between watching a movie and gaming. As for Doom, it was pretty crazy aiming with your eyes/head, like easier but I had to remember to do it! The biggest disappointment was the controls because it was like you sort of skipped or jumped around, almost like Myst, instead of moving like a normal game. Is this typical or the same on Vive, or was it just the PSVR or those particular settings? That definitely made it feel like tech that wasn't quite there. Also, I was surprised by how blurry it appears because I assume the res needs to go much higher that close to your eyes (yay, another graphical progression to pay a premium for over the next decade, just when you thought it was enough =). I think my favorite moment though was when I thought I was alone, moved my eyes to a play video button and seemingly initiated it myself by looking/blinking, which I thought was SO COOL but I couldn't replicate it and it turns out my bro in law probably just did it via the controller when he saw me looking at it. But for a moment there...

The maneater is the hardest challenge in the game. For me anyhow. The jog up to him, the environment, that was the coolest experience the first time through. Not gonna lie, when this came out and I kept dying, I spammed him through a little glitch right in front of the fog gate.

Logged

Believing in a higher power is just as illusionary as believing life has no ultimate purpose and pretending it does.

The maneater is the hardest challenge in the game. For me anyhow. The jog up to him, the environment, that was the coolest experience the first time through. Not gonna lie, when this came out and I kept dying, I spammed him through a little glitch right in front of the fog gate.

If only I'd known! I'm not above such things as I basically poisoned the last two bosses in the final DSIII DLC. I guess that wasn't the point, so I'll play them again straight sometime, but if they didn't want me doing that they shouldn't have made it such an attractive option. =) Didn't feel as satisfying as when I finally beat The Demon Prince(s) "the right way" though.

But yeah, I got real good at knocking that facebug out of the way (one time trying to just roll around him I fell off ) and killing the octopus guard. Glad I'm not the only one that had trouble with those bastards. They definitely felt more like real individual bosses than the later gargoyle type ones. At least these guys could get a bit aggressive and give you some trouble if both aggroed at the same time, especially if you're in the wrong spot.

If only I'd known! I'm not above such things as I basically poisoned the last two bosses in the final DSIII DLC. I guess that wasn't the point, so I'll play them again straight sometime, but if they didn't want me doing that they shouldn't have made it such an attractive option. =) Didn't feel as satisfying as when I finally beat The Demon Prince(s) "the right way" though.

I don't think any trick is too low when it comes to powering through Souls games. The deck is stacked against you. That being said, my favorite aspect of those games is the thrill of GETTING GUD enough that I don't have to resort to tricks, and the most enjoyment I've gotten has been in moments of genuine triumph (Ornstein & Smough on first run is still my greatest gaming moment). But on the first playthrough? Fuck it, anything goes (*fires crossbow at Red Drake's tail*). I kited O&S for what felt like 10 minutes, but that felt pretty valid given that it was 2v1.

And speaking of disorienting, I should mention I tried VR for the first time courtesy of my brother in law who let me try PSVR Doom and some videos. The videos, particularly a sci-fi horror one called Sonar, had a lot of potential because it's a truly participatory and environmental viewing experience where you have to look around to follow the action. Very interesting sort of space between watching a movie and gaming. As for Doom, it was pretty crazy aiming with your eyes/head, like easier but I had to remember to do it! The biggest disappointment was the controls because it was like you sort of skipped or jumped around, almost like Myst, instead of moving like a normal game. Is this typical or the same on Vive, or was it just the PSVR or those particular settings? That definitely made it feel like tech that wasn't quite there.

Oh, cool! Doom VFR uses teleport as the main locomotion mechanic, that's not specific to PSVR. The reason for it is that running around in VR while you're sitting motionless IRL makes a lot of people sick. For that reason locomotion is by far VR's biggest challenge from a game design perspective. So a lot of "first gen" games have resorted to a teleport mechanic because it's easy enough to implement and works pretty well, but it can be frustrating.

However it should be noted that PSVR is really significantly limited compared to PC VR in general (Oculus Rift or HTC Vive). The motion controls for example are not very precise and the tracking area for the headset is quite limited, which makes it more appropriate for seated experiences. With a Rift or HTC, you can combine a teleport mechanic with a bit of moving around (what people call "room scale"), which makes it less frustrating.

You also have games that design around these limitations, like Lone Echo (Rift exclusive), which has you move in Zero-G by pulling and pushing yourself around. Or you have other games who implement locomotion carefully (for example by slowing down the running speed, blurring the edges of your vision or blacking them out when you go fast, or having you turn around by 45į increments) so that people are much less likely to get motion sickness. If you get another occasion to play the PSVR I'd recommend Farpoint, an FPS that has full locomotion and uses a gun prop, it's very nice. Skyrim VR might also have tickled your fancy for feeling like "you're there". And for pure fun, Superhot VR is highly recommended. There's a Wipeout VR compilation coming out too that I think is going to be pretty neat for those who can stomach it. EDIT: Oh and of course there's RE7! That one will really get your heart racing.

Also, I was surprised by how blurry it appears because I assume the res needs to go much higher that close to your eyes (yay, another graphical progression to pay a premium for over the next decade, just when you thought it was enough =).

Yeah, again the PSVR lags behind PC rigs here simply due to the PS4's limited performance. That being said, currently you can't get as crisp a picture as you would on a monitor, even with the best headset. There will be a big bump in resolution with the second generation of PC headsets from Oculus and the like (which I would expect in 2019-2020), but it's tied to a lot of hardware and software components/requirements that aren't easily solved.

I think my favorite moment though was when I thought I was alone, moved my eyes to a play video button and seemingly initiated it myself by looking/blinking, which I thought was SO COOL but I couldn't replicate it and it turns out my bro in law probably just did it via the controller when he saw me looking at it. But for a moment there...

Haha, that's a pretty common control scheme for mobile VR like on the GearVR: you control a dot with your head/neck movements and there's a timer that clicks a button if you hover on it for a few seconds. Believe me though: it doesn't beat a controller.

I don't think any trick is too low when it comes to powering through Souls games. The deck is stacked against you. That being said, my favorite aspect of those games is the thrill of GETTING GUD enough that I don't have to resort to tricks, and the most enjoyment I've gotten has been in moments of genuine triumph (Ornstein & Smough on first run is still my greatest gaming moment). But on the first playthrough? Fuck it, anything goes (*fires crossbow at Red Drake's tail*). I kited O&S for what felt like 10 minutes, but that felt pretty valid given that it was 2v1.

I think most people would cite that fight as a major "MOTHER OF GOD" moment when you realize you really have to fight both those fuckers at once. A friend of mine from work refers to them, unironically at this point, as Siegfried & Roy and we'll reference them as such in comparison to later bosses in the series, e.g. "I could tell it was going to like Siegfried & Roy all over again." Now did you say you soloed them on the first try or just that the first time was a huge moment? If the former, kudos duder! I've still never beaten Smough first and fought uber-Ornstein, which is too bad because on NG++ I wanted that Leo ring for the damage boost but fuck it. =)

And yeah, it's always more fun in the long run to do it the hard way than cheese your way through. I usually win by any means necessary on the first run, because I'm in an unnatural hurry to progress to what's next, and then apply a more strict code the next time. Solo of course, no exploits other than their natural weaknesses, and I like to get in there and mix it up with them until I can pretty much render all their moves useless; INVINCIBLE UNDER (PRAISE) THE SUN! It's crazy comparing DeS to some of the series' later fights where you can see where the original template came from and how they just kept adding layers of shit and turning up the difficulty dial over the years until you end up with The Nameless King (play DS3, please =).

Oh, cool! Doom VFR uses teleport as the main locomotion mechanic, that's not specific to PSVR. The reason for it is that running around in VR while you're sitting motionless IRL makes a lot of people sick. For that reason locomotion is by far VR's biggest challenge from a game design perspective. So a lot of "first gen" games have resorted to a teleport mechanic because it's easy enough to implement and works pretty well, but it can be frustrating.

Interesting and good to know (I'm also forwarding all this info to my dad because he's interested in VR and this close to taking the plunge). I heard it might be something like that (he said it was to give your eyes a rest), but I didn't why and skeptically thought it might be a technology restriction... but WE are the weak link! I feel like I'd cope ok or better than many at least, though it was a weird feeling as is.

EDIT: Oh and of course there's RE7! That one will really get your heart racing.

Now that's the one I'm really curious about. I heard there's two kinds of VR and this one falls into the cinematic mode category, so it's sort of more in front of you still than all around you? Is that a fair distinction or is there less or more to it than that? I'm assuming the differences somehow solves the locomotion issue because there's not as much in your periphery?

Haha, that's a pretty common control scheme for mobile VR like on the GearVR: you control a dot with your head/neck movements and there's a timer that clicks a button if you hover on it for a few seconds.

Yeah... I was pretty disappointed my brain hadn't integrated with the machine and I wasn't going to go on a power mad trip for digital world domination like a bad movie.

I heard it might be something like that (he said it was to give your eyes a rest), but I didn't why and skeptically thought it might be a technology restriction... but WE are the weak link! I feel like I'd cope ok or better than many at least, though it was a weird feeling as is.

It really comes down to how well designed the game is. It varies depending on people though, some are more sensitive than others (I'm pretty resilient myself for example). Also I feel that people tend to get used to it the more they experience it. It's not unlike how back in the day a lot of people were telling me that watching Doom being played made them sick. I don't hear that complaint much anymore.

Now that's the one I'm really curious about. I heard there's two kinds of VR and this one falls into the cinematic mode category, so it's sort of more in front of you still than all around you? Is that a fair distinction or is there less or more to it than that? I'm assuming the differences somehow solves the locomotion issue because there's not as much in your periphery?

Ehhh, there's really many kinds of experiences, but no, RE7 puts you in the world with a first-person perspective. However on PSVR the cutscenes are shown in kind of a cinematic mode, which breaks immersion, but that's a result of the game not being "made for VR" in the first place. It's too bad actually. The game can also be a bit nauseating if you move the camera with the analog stick and not with your head.

Beating fatty first then facing giant gold prick is definitely nothing to sneeze at. It took me nearly ten tries to do it on NG+. I was completely unaware on NG when I first played because I went in blind and actually beat Smough first and almost killed Ornstein, but because of a stupid mistake I died. And the next try I just so happened to kill Ornstein first and Smough next. I wasn't aware of the hype surrounding killing one or the other first, I only needed both of their weapons for the platinum (100% completion). I remember talking about the fight with a friend and him saying something along the lines of, "Ah, you beat them in two tries, well done. But who did you kill first, hmm?? I bet it was Ornstein!" Me: *feeling so stupid*

Anyways, speaking of a challenge, fighting Organization XIII in KH2 Final Mix on Critical difficulty is insane. When you first come across their Absent Silhouettes early in the game, it's best to move along. I made the mistake of entering one when I was around level 20-30 and was killed instantly by their first attack. I am now level 48 and was able to beat Larxene with Stitch, 'Damage Control' x2, a bunch of defense boosts, and several tries of analyzing her. I don't know how I'll fare against the other 12 members, especially their Data versions which make the Silhouettes look like pathetic children. But shoot I love this challenge, it's exhilarating!

I don't know if anyone else mentioned it but I've been playing the new South Park game, The Fractured But Whole, and it's really great. Surprising long too. I'm 12 hours into and I'm still just scratching the surface. These guys are obviously big fans of classic open world RPGs and they are succeeding in turning the South Park world into a great series of games

Well, Iím trading in southpark as itís just not interesting like the stick of truth. Everything is recycled for the most part and the gags come off as trying to hard. This is the first game this generation Iím trading. Iíll be picking up breath of the wild and horizons frozen wilds. Hope itís up to the hype after all the open world games and the depth so far this generation. Never been a Zelda fan, but Iíll try it out. Only worry is the weapon breaking mechanic might drive me insane. Finished shadow of war and thoroughly enjoyed it, even more so than the original. Fan fiction on roids and I never felt the need or want to purchase through the talked about negative loot boxes. Finished wolfenstein the new colossus, assassins origins, and both had an alright feel, just middle of the road. Mario galaxy was fun, but I liked galaxy a smidge more.

Logged

Believing in a higher power is just as illusionary as believing life has no ultimate purpose and pretending it does.

I jumped back into Ni-Oh recently, after I got a new video card (RX 560). Stuck on Onryoki. Guy's a fucking dick! Takes you down in 2 hits, and has attack patterns that punish you if you try to attack his side or back. So you basically just have to cycle through his standard attacks, getting in some chip damage while you can, until you wear him down enough that he shifts attack modes, which are even less predictable. It never seems to me that I have a clear enough opening to do more than 2-3 attacks before retreating and waiting to counterattack again. Based on my failures here, I feel like this game is speaking a complex language that I just don't understand, and I've played through most of the Souls games...

Cool, though if I didn't already get a chance to play Demon's Souls I'd be flipping out about another readily available game getting reported all over again with an upscale that's probably on par with DS Fix (this game was already in HD folks, and on PC you could make it look as good as your system could handle).

I've actually started Nioh as well, having completed Demon's Souls last week under somewhat of a cloud; it really never got more challenging than the Maneaters, so the rest was kind of a letdown, including the "final boss," which resulted in me getting the bad ending I guess (I was curious, yet my curiosity went unsatisfied. =) The real bummer is I didn't know after the last demon soul I got before that I'd be prompted for the final event and not be able to level up anymore. I didn't even mean to accept, I was just clicking like a spaz making sure I got that soul and accepted the return to the Nexus, which I figured was just because I was too close to the node! I intended to do so much before NG+ (which is a real kick in the ass in this game).

Anyway, back to Nioh, I'm approaching it exactly like a souls game, like trying to adapt the controls 1:1 but quickly realizing that won't work because of the extra wrinkles on top (it'd be like trying to play BotW limited to Dark Souls controls when there's a lot more complicated layers of control mechanics being employed, obviously), but it's also because the control change scheme is deceptively unaccommodating so that switching run/dodge/roll and interact also changes those buttons on the menu, yet isn't reflected in the onscreen prompts to further confuse things! The rest I understand isn't so easily switched for the purposes of the HUD, but you can switch A and B on the screen and there's literally no default control scheme that does this for you (is that the last straw in it violating Souls control copyright or something? =). So, I'm going to need to find a middle ground or embrace the necessary change of the Nioh controls, but to paraphrase Guts, I just want to go into battle with the weapon my hand is used to (to the tune of like 500+ hours). We'll see how it goes, I only went through the first area and boss and right now it's feeling like something between a DS game and Lords of the Fallen, we'll see if I find it more like the former or the latter in time.

Controls are definitely a learning curve for Ni-Oh. And you don't get a real tutorial until after the intro. But give it time, it's a great game. That opening area sucks, but the first real stage is a romp. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Then you can get stuck on the same boss as me!

Another reason I was trying to make it like Dark Souls 4 is I'm also afraid that once I get used to it I'll suffer trying to go back playing DeS NG+ or Bloodborne. Anyway, barring some brilliant solution using both the in-game custom controls and steam controller configuration I'll just have to figure out a middle ground, but it's annoying they couldn't make one of the half dozen default control schemes follow the Dark Souls layout for at least the roll/interact buttons (like they did with attacks and block, to their credit). You're not fooling anybody with that distinction, Nioh (LotF did the same cute shit too, "See, it's different" yeah, just enough to throw me)!

I quit that halfway through because it was late and I needed to sleep (probably shouldn't have done that =), but it was enough to make me see that doing some broken, jimmy-rigged DS setup wasn't going to cut it with all the layers to the stances and even item switching mechanics. I presume you'll actually need to use that stuff effectively, instead of with both hands tied behind your back, to advance. DS principles over DS specifics.

But give it time, it's a great game. That opening area sucks, but the first real stage is a romp. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Then you can get stuck on the same boss as me!

Yeah, that boss doesn't sound too promising if it's giving you so much trouble. Just reading your description of it made me exhausted with him already. We'll see how I click with it by then. The intro stage was nothing special like you say, but I didn't hate it (I like how the game moves, actually). Oh yeah, my favorite mechanic was actually the visible endurance bars so you could strategize overwhelming and tiring enemies out. Again, I was approaching it like DS so a couple times I had a guy broken and didn't finish him off because I was watching him and waiting to see his next move, "Why's he just sitting there... OH!"

I quit that halfway through because it was late and I needed to sleep (probably shouldn't have done that =), but it was enough to make me see that doing some broken, jimmy-rigged DS setup wasn't going to cut it with all the layers to the stances and even item switching mechanics. I presume you'll actually need to use that stuff effectively, instead of with both hands tied behind your back, to advance. DS principles over DS specifics.

It's a much more mechanically complex game than Dark Souls, which is both a benefit and a hindrance. Personally I feel like there's TOO much going on, but the game doesn't force you to be a complete master of all the range of abilities/stances/weapons. So far it allows you to just use those options to customize your playstyle. One thing I would recommend, which the tutorial does a shit job of emphasizing and explaining, learn how to do Ki Pulse. Hit R1 after you strike, once the white gauge fills in your ki/stamina bar. It'll refill up to the white portion. Very useful for continuing combos.

Quote

Yeah, that boss doesn't sound too promising if it's giving you so much trouble. Just reading your description of it made me exhausted with him already.

The only other boss who's given me this much trouble was Artorias, which is one of the toughest fights in Souls, and this is the second boss in the game. So even if I beat this guy, I might well just say "fuck this" as I progress to presumably tougher enemies.Update: Got him finally! I used the tried and true method of just not listening to game audio, and listened to a podcast instead. Basically, I just started playing by instinct after I'd already learned all of his moves. Took him down on the first try tonight. Now, bring on the next insurmountable wall!

The only other boss who's given me this much trouble was Artorias, which is one of the toughest fights in Souls, and this is the second boss in the game. So even if I beat this guy, I might well just say "fuck this" as I progress to presumably tougher enemies.Update: Got him finally! I used the tried and true method of just not listening to game audio, and listened to a podcast instead. Basically, I just started playing by instinct after I'd already learned all of his moves. Took him down on the first try tonight. Now, bring on the next insurmountable wall!

Glad you got him, I'm not quite there yet because I haven't had a chance to play the last couple days, but if disregarding the way you're supposed to play is the way to go I like my chances better. I'm still playing it with my wonky DS controls, and even moreso because I just stay in high stance for the damage and straight rolling. Keepin' it simple.

Update: Got Onryoki after only at least a dozen tries! Still using my bastardized Souls config for as far as it will take me, and it was a pretty typical Souls boss experience for me in that I did pretty good and got him down past halfway the first try and then immediately regressed and comically failed on subsequent efforts (including an instant first hit kill by him as I retrieved my amrita *SMASH*), until I painstakingly figured him out finally. What turned the tide was two adjustments, the first being high stance for more damage per hit, especially important to get past his trickier first form, and second, after wasting some Elixirs early on and having almost no life left I got hyper aggressive with my attacks and dodges, which it worked so well I almost won and knew I had the formula for next time. The worst part was I got impatient on one of my trips back to him, tried rushing some enemies and got myself ganked, losing more amrita in the process than I got for killing him (ugh, don't miss that feeling). Once I was at zero amrita I said fuck it and just ran straight past them to the boss, a strategy I'll employ from now on instead of being cute and trying to build amrita while I fail until OOPS! Anyway, that was fun, but good lord this game is full of complicated maps and menus and intuitive shit. Just navigating the maps (any way I can go back to that mission?) and menus is more esoteric than the lore is Dark Souls, and I'm doing it with completely wonky controls where A is B, RB is X, down is up, and up is Y, etc. =)

But the fact that it isn't is making me cry. Hell, it's not even getting a cheap old re-release on PSN. Poor, unloved Demon's Souls.

Yeah, it's not worth it, especially when you consider the huge price tag and that it's a Japanese PS4 exclusive. For that reason they might as well have included Demon's Souls in the deal, even just a code for the existing PSN copy or something. Anyway, again, disappointing that Dark Souls is getting the treatment many we're hoping to see for Demon's Souls, but I understand why. I guess DeS just isn't the valuable property we'd like it to be treated as, but it could be worse, if they did see it as some exploitable brand they might commission an awful third party remake... or sequels.

Anyway, again, disappointing that Dark Souls is getting the treatment many we're hoping to see for Demon's Souls, but I understand why. I guess DeS just isn't valuable property we'd like it to be treated as, but it could be worse, if they did see it as some exploitable brand they might commission an awful third party remake... or sequels.

Yeah, I kinda expected them to slip it in after porting Dark Souls II to this gen, even if it was a little low-key. But even now, I don't completely rule it out. Maybe they'll consider it after their next release, which is apparently the next Armored Core

And yeah I'd much rather let the series be laid to rest right now than to have someone else --anyone else-- try to make more.

As much as I love Demon's Souls (it's my favourite FromSoftware game by a significant margin) I can't say I'm all that upset about Dark Souls taking the spotlight. Part of the charm of From's action RPGs (such as King's Field and Shadow Tower) is that they've never been widely accesable in the same way Dark Souls is now. Dark Souls has become a mainstream gaming sensation, which is all well and good, but it's hard to have any personal attachment to it at this point since literally everyone and their dog has already played and discussed it to death. You can still play Demon's Souls today and feel like you're part of some kind of secret club, if you know what I mean.

At this point I look at Dark Souls as Miyazaki's sacrificial lamb to Bandai Namco to ensure From's long-term survivability, any integrity the series once had was lost as soon as they started doing pre-order DLC and season passes. Bloodborne was excellent, but being a flagship exclusive for the PS4 certainly held it back since Sony were banking on it to shift units, compared to Demon's Souls which was already considered a failure within the company which allowed Miyazaki to come along and do whatever he wanted with it.

I probably sound like a total hipster twat saying this but sometimes accessability isn't always a good thing, or rather, obscure games remaining obscure isn't always a bad thing, just my two cents. With the way PS3 emulation is progressing we'll all be able to play it without owning one soon enough, I'm looking forward to saying goodbye to this old paperweight!

I probably sound like a total hipster twat saying this but sometimes accessability isn't always a good thing

Only if the work suffers, otherwise I don't really think the integrity of these games lies in their relative popularity, sales or our perception thereof, especially since Dark Souls was successful by doubling down on what made Demon's great and more. What struck me most about Demon's Souls was how finished the whole Souls gameplay style was in it and how much Dark Souls is a direct continuation of that rather than a true retooling of the concept. It also gave me renewed appreciation for Dark Souls III as an ultimate installment, how much it brings the series full circle and honors Demon's Souls as well, negating the necessity of a Demon's Souls 2 or Dark Souls IV in my mind. If there's a negative exception, to your point about mainstream success, it's Dark Souls II, which despite its merits stands out as the unnecessary black sheep and an in-house knockoff to capitalize on the surprising success of Dark Souls (as is this upgraded DS, since they don't have another game ready but clearly want to release one this year). The rest of the games in the series all have their place and purpose besides the obvious desire to actually sell games, but after DS3 I don't know what else Miyazaki has to say with it.

Speaking of not letting Souls go, I'm a few more missions and bosses into my DS-style Nioh playthrough, so my wonky controls are working for me afterall. I even tried switching to a more natural and efficient scheme so I could navigate menus normally, use all my item slots and switch stances on the fly, but it just wasn't right (I gotta guard with L1 =). I even got used to moving down in the menus by pressing up and up by hitting the Y button. Anyway, its incredible how close I got it to 1:1 with my usual Souls loadout since I kept that pretty simple too and the enemies and bosses are going down for me accordingly. If I had a major criticism it's that the mission based style kind of sucks, especially how it traps you in one when sometimes I just want to experiment a bit, and so far there's little variation in the way of enemies, or I see the same zombies and demons repeated too much every level.

Update: Bumping this for two reasons, first is I'm having a problem with a weird regular stutter in the game. I understand this game isn't very well optimized and has a weird controller check that can cause this, but I'm using a controller and after getting rid of it awhile after lowering my settings it's come back and now won't go away no matter what I do, even if I minimize all settings (even doing it custom through my nvidia card). Anyway, I don't know what perfect combination I had going when I was rid of the problem, but if anyone has more ecpertise on this issue I'm open to solutions. In the meantime I have it set high because it's not hurting performance!

Second reason for the bump is I wanted to express a couple of things I'm enjoying besides the core combat gameplay, which is the Diablo-like loot system (complete with treasure goblins =) and the delightfully gonzo pseudo-historical setting and "plot." I'm geeking out on the history, real and imagined, and Yokai mythlogy, even with the bizarre neon magic anthropomorphic stuffed animals running underfoot too.

Finally got some time for Horizon Zero Dawn. I have to admit, wasnít expecting it to be as good as it is. Story is decent and the game is challenging for the most part. Highly recommend it for those looking something to play.